Château Giscours 2023

This really expands in the mouth, with tight tannins that are polished and velvety. The fruit shows depth and purity. Medium to full body. Juicy center-palate. Like the ripe fruit in the center palate. The quality of the tannins in this rises to a new level. The tannins pull you through the wine. 71% cabernet sauvignon, 7% cabernet franc and the rest merlot.

61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc The Giscours 2023 is imposing, not necessarily in its intensity, but in the way it reveals its many olfactory facets and depth, with a leitmotif of enthusiastic freshness. The wine is dense and opens up on the palate. To achieve this, it can count on the support of its tannins, which never cease to delight the whole palate, while the acidity is as structuring as it is incisive and refreshing. There is also a fine bitterness that supports the aromatic expression on the finish and lingers on the palate. A powerful, bright Giscours with a salivating, energetic structure. 2029-2048

If the 2022 vintage of Château Giscours could be likened to a group of virtuosic soloists—brilliant individually but lacking overall harmony—then the 2023 vintage would be akin to a grand symphony, where each performer contributes to a harmonious musical movement. In a vintage characterized by milder alcohol yet notable intensity, Château Giscours presents us with a dazzling musical theater. The fresh aromas of cherries, sour dates, pomegranate, and strawberries dance through the air like swirling ribbons, while notes of black tea, herbal remedies, and hawthorn cake whisper like a breeze through the forest. In showcasing this ethereal charm, Château Giscours also meticulously sculpts its structure and depth. This is the Château Giscours I wish to see: a real “siren” with both a graceful form and a powerful spirit.

The 2023 Giscours is one of the real successes of the vintage, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cherries and red fruits mingled with hints of undergrowth, violets and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's seamless and concentrated, with a fleshy core of fruit framed by ripe, powdery tannins and succulent acids, concluding with a long, broad finish. It's a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc. Now fully in the control of the Albada family, Château Giscours is at last about to construct a new winery, which should be operational for the 2027 vintage. The first new plantings using the estate's proprietary massal selections are also taking place. So, evolutions at this dynamic Margaux property continue to be fast-paced. In 2023, temperature lows were classic (aided, no doubt, by the large lake that serves as a kind of natural air conditioner at the heart of the estate's vineyards), even if highs were well above average. The team dared to wait for full maturity of their Cabernet Sauvignon, harvesting in multiple passages through each parcel according to vine age, as is now the norm at this address, to produce a wine of real character and plenitude that's a worthy follow-up to the terrific 2022.